Mega Man X: Renascent Dissonance
by StellarLupine
Summary: "X9-X10"; After the end of Command Mission & before the Elf Wars. The Hunters and their allies, old and new, will soon discover that there's a LOT more to the Maverick Wars than Sigma's rebellions over the years. (Apologies for the long wait; the next Prologue chapter is up for now.)
1. Prelude: Shadow of Conflict

**Author's Note: Before I begin, I'd like to inform all potential readers that this is officially my very first attempt at writing fan-fiction on this website (or any site). I have been holding back ideas for a story like this about 12 years now, and I am not** ** _totally_** **confident in my ability as a writer, so I will personally treat this as an "experiment".**

 **I am completely open to constructive criticism in reviews, and any offers from experienced authors to become Beta Readers of this story (I will not actively search for you).**

 **This will be the only story that I shall focus on for quite a while, until the moment I finally complete it. I still have a few other ideas for stories stuck in my head [and recorded elsewhere], but I will not distract myself from this specific story until I feel that I'm finished. With that said...**

 **As an extra note for readers, whether or not you're a fan of the Mega Man X series, I will be using the original Japanese terms for certain places and things, as well as certain character names (but, of course, not every single one of them). For Example: "Gigantis" is the name of the Giga City location in the original Japanese version of** ** _Mega Man X: Command Mission (_ a.k.a. simply _"Rockman X Command Mission")_** **. I will make sure to elaborate as needed at the end of Chapters whenever I use the original Japanese terminology for something the first time around.**

 ** _OBLIGATORY DISCLAIMER: I do NOT own, or claim to own, the Mega Man X series or the entire Mega Man franchise. It is entirely the property of_ CAPCOM _. This story is the result of a fan's idea that has been bouncing around his brain for a long time, and any character introduced in this story [not found in any official Mega Man-related media whatsoever] belongs to yours truly._**

KEY (for future chapters):

Between " " = Spoken dialogue (obvious)

 _"Dialogue in italics"_ = Thought

ALL-CAPS = Computer text (certain computers)

"ALL-CAPS" = Yelling or **mechaniloid** dialogue

 **Bold** = Meant to draw special attention from the reader.

 **"Bold dialogue"** = Words which are enunciated/emphasized by the speaking character.

 **Without further ado... Onward, to the story's beginning!**

* * *

 **MEGA MAN X: RENASCENT DISSONANCE**

 **PART 1: SHADOW OF CONFLICT**

 **-Prelude-**

 **22XX (Mid-23** **rd** **Century)**

Post-Gigantis Rebellion

 _Six months have passed since the quelling of the Rebellion Army on the man-made island of Gigantis. For reasons not yet made known to the public, all production of refined " **Force Metal** " has completely ceased. The production of New-Generation Reploids, equipped with **Copy-Chips** , continues in-spite of the effort of the Maverick Hunters organization during the earlier Jakob Incident. _

_Mass-production of these Copy-Chips, under the authority of both Jakob project-lead **Lumin**_ _ **é**_ _and the approval of humans holding government positions, was what led to the return of **Sigma** ; for what is hopefully the final time. His constant reappearances had been the cause of too many conflicts in the past._

 _Ever since the destruction of both Orbital Elevators, there have been no new attempts at space-transportation projects. All that remains is **Jakob Tower** , an abandoned building that formerly served as the entrance to one of the defunct bridges intended for space travel._

 _So far, the only sigh of relief for the Maverick Hunters is the belief that the true Sigma was destroyed once and for all. After defeating the Rebellion Army in Gigantis, their only worry for the first four months was the possibility of another New-Generation Reploid suddenly thinking it's Sigma. When new recruits came to their headquarters in waves, the last two months were spent focusing on indoctrination and training, due in no small part to the formation of a **19** **th** **Division** (endearingly called "Bulldog Unit" by some because of its Commander). Many of these new arrivals were Reploids that formerly lived and worked in Gigantis, having left it behind due to a loss of purpose. Some of them wanted to put their individual skills to good use in service of what they believed to be a just cause._

 _Nature slowly continues to recover from the debris of the Eurasia Space Colony that impacted almost two decades ago. While damage to Earth's surface ultimately could not be avoided, and lives were still lost, it was thankfully mitigated due to the **Enigma Cannon's** successful firing; vaporizing approx. 95% of the enormous man-made colony's frame and infrastructure before impact. __The largest of the impact craters is still visible from space without magnifying equipment, and has been closed off to curious researchers for some time. Access is currently restricted to Hunters-only._

 _ **X** is hailed as a hero across the planet for his continued efforts in maintaining peace for both humans and Reploids. Though he remains reluctant to fight fellow Reploids who are labeled "Maverick", he is continually compelled to try his best to ensure the safety of all innocent lives, and to defeat those who have truly abandoned the idea of coexistence to pursue wicked goals. There are those, however, who would like nothing more than to take advantage of his apparent "_ _naiveté" and idealism_ _._

 _Two human scientists had recently risen to prominence; coinciding with X's recent popularity. One was already a rising star in the study of **Cyberspace** , and the other was the director of the Jakob Project before Lumin_ _é_ _. The former director became well-known… or infamous… only after he publicly admitted his mistake in giving the reins to Lumin_ _é,_ _but chose not to return to the position. Instead, he announced that the **revival** of Reploids and the development of weapons were fields better suited to his 'genius'. The world would be in shock for weeks, however, after he announced his personal belief on the role of Reploids in history._

 _Another conflict seems inevitable. A number of officials in the world government continually make careless decisions in light of increased New-Generation Reploid production, almost as if they're **purposely** giving reasons for Reploids to rebel against humankind, as an excuse to grasp at more power…_

"Bombing" Incidents in Cainégisil

 _In the fourth month of relative peace since Gigantis, however, a new city was built around the main Jakob Tower in the **Galápagos Islands**. Noah's Park ("Point Galapagos") was also decommissioned, as a Maverick Hunter presence was deemed no longer necessary. This was in complete violation of centuries-old environmental protection legislation, one of few things publicly remembered from an era before major advances in robotics. Human and Reploid alike were outraged, as the Jakob Tower was originally meant to be non-intrusive to the island's ecosystem._

 _The development of this city had been overseen by a few powerful human members of the **Federation** , now a worldwide government, established in the early days of 21XX just before the Third Maverick War. They named the city **"Cainégisil"** , an arrogant mockery of the former Abel City; untouched since its ruination at the hands of Sigma long ago._

 _ **Chief R** , a high-ranking Reploid member of the Federation, had unfortunately been destroyed near the end of the Gigantis Rebellion after being called to there by Colonel Redips; revealed to be a traitor. His position of continued focus on the Earth's restoration, instead of space travel and copy-chip production, was already opposed by several of his greedier human colleagues._

 _Barely one week after the city's founding, a mysterious series of explosions went off, killing a number of innocent workers and damaging many energy facilities. The Maverick Hunters, under the authority of other key figures in the Federation government, offered to help repair the damage. Unfortunately, this offer was swiftly declined, and the governor of_ _Cainégisil declared that he would deal with the "rebel threat" on his own. The Hunters were alerted to possible Maverick activity, but could do nothing [legally] about it._

The Far-East's Most Wanted

 _Ever since the Maverick Hunters finished their mission in Gigantis, and especially since training of new recruits began, occasional reports came in of a **rogue figure** resembling "an animal from Far Eastern human folklore". No submitted reports ever seemed certain of whether it was a Reploid or Mechaniloid, but that it was at-least humanoid in stature. This rogue has attacked specific locations on two continents so far, and harmed people once every week since its initial appearance. Oddly enough, no-one who has bravely (or unfortunately) encountered it had been killed. Because no has died as of yet, the Hunters have not seen fit to send the most skilled among them to deal with the issue. Whatever it really is, it remains loose in the world._

Blue Comet hurtles toward Earth

 _A mysterious heavenly object began appearing in the night sky since the conclusion of the Jakob Incident, though few really paid it any mind. Astronomers have since confirmed their initial belief that it is a comet, but very small in size compared to all other comets observed in the past two centuries; almost human-sized._

 _There were three instances of brilliant flares from this so-called comet in the past two months, briefly shining in bluish-white light and casting blue "flames" which lasted for several minutes each time. They occurred specifically when X was called "hero" worldwide, when a certain revival-specialist proclaimed his belief, and when explosions rocked Gal_ _á_ _pagos; almost as if in direct response to those events._

 _What alarmed observers is the current trajectory of the comet, now simply called the "Blue Comet". In the past week, it has begun heading straight for Earth. Scans indicate that, as of now, it's already on its way passing Mars._

 _The Hunters are currently preparing the Enigma Cannon for this Blue Comet's possible entry into Earth's atmosphere, in-case its course remains unchanged in the coming months..._

 _(Advance to Prologue 1)_

* * *

 **A/N: Just a short Prelude to set up the beginning parts of this story _for now._**

 **As some potential readers may notice, this story is already heading in a "non-canon" direction in regards to the Introduction of Mega Man X6. I** ** _will_** **say that I'm not currently planning for this story to bridge the "Elf Wars" gap between the X and Zero series, to avoid blatantly giving away what exactly is non-canon to X6.**

 **\- However, for those of you more familiar with the Zero series, you just might realize who the vaguely-described "two human scientists" are. (Even if you didn't see the featured Characters in this fic's description)**

 **\- If you've played X8 [all the way to the end on Normal or Hard], you may wonder why Copy-Chips are still being produced.**

 **\- "Jakob Tower" is not an actual visitable location in X8. The Orbital Elevator itself is; I'll bring up this Tower again in later chapters, as it is [obviously] meant to be connected.**

 **\- For those of you who've actually played Command Mission all the way through, I do plan for a certain optional enemy from that game to basically serve a "Dynamo"-esque role in this story.**

 **In any case, as I've already stated, I welcome constructive criticism in your reviews. If you believe there is an issue of any kind with my writing/typing, be honest.**

 **See you all next week (Hopefully no delays)!**


	2. Prologue 1

**Author's Note: As a heads-up, my final draft for this 1st Prologue became a little too "long". Similarly to the Prelude, I originally intended for it to be relatively short in length. Now, there is a new 2nd Prologue still being revised that contains story material I intended to end _this_ chapter with. I will say that the _former_ 2nd, now 3rd, Prologue will not just be plainly called "Prologue 3".**

 **Since this is the 1st Prologue chapter, it won't be action-heavy and will serve as an introduction to a few of the PART 1 cast of characters. The same will go for the new 2nd Prologue. I promise you readers that the new "3rd Prologue" will start to get the story moving.**

 **I'll personally think of these Prologues as "testing the waters" before I get to upload the REAL chapters later on.**

 _ **DISCLAIMER: It should be glaringly obvious that I do NOT own, or claim to own, the Mega Man X series or the entire Mega Man franchise. It is entirely the property of**_ **CAPCOM** _ **. Any original character introduced in this story, however, belongs to yours truly.**_

 **Now, let us get on with my promise to upload this Prologue in the week following the Prelude. Enjoy!**

* * *

 **PART 1: SHADOW OF CONFLICT**

 **-PROLOGUE 1-**

 _Two months ago, a small detachment of Hunters from the Main Headquarters had been dispatched to assist in the Eurasian Division's efforts to capture criminal Reploids roaming all over Eastern Europe. Despite local deeds of ill-repute in one particular city, reportedly the origin point of the surge in criminal activity, the Hunters' recent quarry was rather easily captured. The Hunters were preparing to leave Europe for headquarters after successfully helping to apprehend all targets and reporting back to Commander **Signas**. The city is now free from any and all illicit activity. Well... for now._

 **Outskirts of Dynamikos, Crete: 1300 Hours**

Professor Gaudile ("Go-deel") watched the scenery of the bright cityscape while deep in thought. He couldn't fathom why someone in their right mind would design a Reploid based on an old human crime syndicate, and then just set him loose to cause havoc after activation. His team's most recent capture was a dark gray-clad Reploid named "Don Blitz", whose mannerisms were straight out of some very hard-to-find American crime thriller movies. Thanks to Axl's incessant pleading, he'd watched a few of them before they finally managed to capture the zany "Don". This task turned out to be nowhere near as difficult as humans would've found it to defeat and capture a boss of organized crime back then.

Not to mention that all of this started when the Eurasian Division found out that Blitz seemed to have an almost cartoonish ability to disappear from his confinement without any evidence of damage to his cells, or accomplices helping him get out. In-spite of several past attempts at trying different methods, including an anti-teleportation field, he thwarted them all. The Main Headquarters was called to help find a way to contain Blitz once and for all, and now that it was all done and over with, Gaudile found himself steadily growing more impatient to finally leave the city.

"This is the best we could get you, Donny-boy. You're really lucky that, despite your dangerous antics, you actually haven't **killed** anybody so far. We wouldn't have thought to contain you in the first place if you had." One of the Eurasian Hunters said, a rather familiar face at least to Don Blitz.

Blitz found himself bound, arms and legs both, in a special ceratanium cage that electronically transferred his mind inside of a computer screen. His face showed up on a screen just outside the cage and responded, "Don't disrespect the Don. When next I get out, I'll... I'll make your demise look like a disappearing act!"

" **If** you can get out of what you're in now, Donny-boy. I think the Hunters have finally got you this time." The Eurasian Hunter stated with a confident smile.

Just then, a Reploid with a youthful appearance and cross-shaped scar on his face dashed onto the scene. He was clad in navy-blue body armor with red accents, had dark-green eyes, and spiky auburn hair sprouting from the back of his helmet. He wore a gleeful expression and carried plates of local cuisine in both hands.

"Axl, what is that you are carrying?" Gaudile asked in a near-bemused tone. He knew it was food, but he was tempted to ask **why** he was carrying it.

The Reploid youth named Axl declared, "You've got to try this! It's fried snail, I think they're called 'chochlios' or whatever, and cheese pies!"

"No, no. I think I'll pass this time." Gaudile scratched his head and looked away for a few minutes, _"Now I've seen everything during this trip. First a Reploid that could somehow escape from all manner of confinement, and now Axl is gorging on organic food. Don't most of us generate our own energy by now? Wouldn't food mess up our systems?"_ Gaudile broke out of his thoughts to catch the sight of a couple humans in the distance trading a harmless object for cash. _"As a matter of fact, why in the world does **paper money** still exist in 22XX? Surely, questions for the ages!"_

Realization that something was missing came to Gaudile, "Hey, Axl!" The youth stopped stuffing himself.

"Yeah? What's up, Prof?" Axl still had food in his mouth while speaking, a slight annoyance to Gaudile.

Rather, some **one** was missing. "Axl... where is Cinnamon? Did you leave her behind in the city?!" He nearly yelled.

Axl choked on his food, and sweatdropped.

" _ **Axl**_... Oh, just swallow first, then tell me!" Gaudile covered his eyes after noticing Axl's mishap.

He did as ordered, "Uh...oh yeah. I think she should still be in the city's market square." He said sheepishly.

"You 'THINK'?! Cinnamon is still innocent and naive. As much as I regret not showing her much of the outside world when we were still in Gigantis, I thought I could trust you to accompany her in the city!" Gaudile began comically running in circles out of sheer panic. Where has his dearest creation, his dear Cinnamon, gone off to? Did someone trick her into a dark alley? Was she forced into debt? Hopefully she didn't accidentally hurt anybody with her FMG capabilities! Oh no... what if people _**knew**_ about the FMG, and tried to pry it out of her?!

"Professor?" A voice quietly called out.

"NO! Where could she be?!" As Gaudile blindly ran about in a panic, a white-armored female Reploid [with what appeared to be a red-cross symbol adorned on the helmet she was wearing] walked up behind him. Gaudile didn't seem to notice her coming up, continuing to despair.

As soon as Axl noticed, he waved to her but stayed quiet, entertained by the show Gaudile was putting on.

While the two Reploids [and a third waiting to be noticed] continued with their antics, the Eurasian Division began to discuss whether they should keep watch on Blitz's cage or just hand him over to the main headquarters this time.

"How is the prisoner? Did the restraints work?" A mellifluously female tone in the background inquired the team.

"Yes, madame!- I mean... Yes, Doctor!" One of the Division quickly turned to face her and replied, embarrassed by his apparent solecism.

"You know; I don't really mind being called 'madame', 'ma'am', 'miss', or my actual name. No need for formality." The young woman stated in amusement.

This snapped Gaudile out of his panicked stupor, as he'd recognized the voice. It was that of a talented scientist he had heard of, through the video news, a little while back before they moved here from the main headquarters. If only he had known that she would be here in this city, he would have eagerly agreed to leave headquarters in the first place, instead of with reluctance and dread. Excitement welled up within his circuitry, thinking he finally had the chance to ask his newfound idol several half-forgotten questions as a fellow inventor. Before he could turn around to see what she looked like in person...

"PROFESSOR!" This time, the Reploid behind him yelled with a volume that even Axl thought uncharacteristic of her.

Gaudile jumped in fright, almost a full 4 yards in the air, upon finally hearing someone behind him. Axl immediately burst into laughter.

Gaudile decided to ignore his laughter for now, and frantically turned to the sight of a blonde female that wore what humans would assume to be the Reploid-equivalent of a nurse's outfit in the form of armor.

"C-Cinnamon? You're okay!" All three pairs of Gaudile's arms were raised in celebration as he jumped for joy, but he briefly interrupted himself to look back at Axl, who was still laughing hysterically after witnessing Gaudile's surprised reaction.

"HAAAA! I didn't know you could jump _**that**_ high, Prof!"

Gaudile squinted his eyes, "No thanks to this dope over here." He ran up to Cinnamon and clasped her hands, "Please don't go off alone with him again, Cinnamon!"

"Hey! I resent that. We did just fine navigating the city! We've been here for two months, Prof!"

"Axl..." Both Axl and Gaudile turned back to Cinnamon, who wore a pouting expression on her face.

Axl responded hopefully, "Isn't that right, Cinny? Neither of us got lost, and you could easily find your way back here!"

Just then, Cinnamon's light-blue eyes teared up a little. Axl was puzzled. He had never known Cinnamon to be one to cry. It had nothing to do with getting out of the city ahead of her, right? He was sure she could easily handle herself.

Axl's mind was racing to figure out what he might've done to upset her. He heard low growling coming from Gaudile's direction, making him nervous, so he looked away from both of them while he continued to mentally stumble.

What? Where did he go wrong?!

...

...

Cinnamon yelled again, "You didn't let **me** try any of the food we got!"

Axl did a flip-take, and quickly got back up. _"Oh... Whoops!"_ He'd forgotten to share what he bought in the city when he got back. All he could manage in that moment was to make a silly expression; closing one eye and sticking his tongue out.

"Oh, how dare you, Axl..." Upon hearing Axl's latest mishap, Gaudile made a gesture as if he was pulling up sleeves and putting up his "fists".

Then came the pleasant female voice again. Interest was piqued in their conversation.

"Excuse me, you three. I heard you mention a Professor."

Gaudile immediately forgot why he was angry at Axl. He finally had the opportunity he was looking for, and ran up ahead of Axl and Cinnamon to meet with their visitor.

The woman was amazed at the speed one of the three Reploids displayed in running up to her. He seemed really excited about something, just from his wide-open eyes and flailing arms. As soon as he stopped in front of her, his feet almost skidding to a halt, he "saluted" her with enthusiasm.

She couldn't help but return the gesture.

Axl and Cinnamon took special note of the woman's appearance: Her metric height is approx. 183 cm, her skin is a creamy light-brown, she has very dark brown eyes, long strawberry-blonde hair tied in a ponytail with a metallic-pink hairband, thin eyebrows, bow-shaped lips, and she wore a long lab-coat; lavender in color along with a pair of light gray shin-length boots. On her left wrist was a ring-shaped device with the same metallic-pink color as her hairband, which also glowed with a soft green light. Axl couldn't quite tell what it was.

Judging from her thin physique, and the fact that they couldn't detect any metal parts on the exterior of her body, Axl and Cinnamon could only assume that she is **human**.

When both of them finally caught up to Gaudile, they gave their own colorful greetings. Cinnamon had one hand clasped on the back of the other, both in front [in a "fig-leaf" position], and politely bowed. Axl decided once again to pay more attention to Gaudile's behavior, and gave the target of his current display a quick wave.

The woman smiled wide, "Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Dr. Croire Nouveau, and I am a scientist. Specifically; I specialize in neuro-cybernetics, and am currently studying the mysterious Cyberworld phenomenon."

Gaudile tried his best not to let his excitement get the better of him and finally responded in kind, "And I am Professor Gaudile, lead researcher- rather, **former** researcher, of Force Metal."

After he finished his introduction, Gaudile noticed confusion in Croire's voice for a brief moment.

Croire mentally admitted to herself that she certainly wasn't expecting a short Reploid that looked like a **platypus** with two extra pairs of limbs on his back to be a famous scientist.

Then, Croire immediately bowed her head as if in apology, "Please, forgive my rudeness. I had presumed 'Gaudile' to be a human's name. I admit that I haven't heard of many Reploid scientists."

"Well, I'm not really so much of a 'scientist'. I'm more of an engineer and occasional inventor." Gaudile replied with modesty, his cheeks becoming the closest thing to 'blushing' in most Reploids.

Croire enthusiastically continued, "But I've heard of all your accomplishments, Professor. You are renowned in many countries as a specialist of complex energy theories. I read that you know more about Force Metal than anyone else in the world, and you built a supercomputer that could connect to and control all of the machinery and mechaniloids on Gigantis. You even helped the Hunters defeat the megalomaniacal Colonel Redips!"

Gaudile hesitated for a moment from the latter claim, but honestly answered, "I think that last part is a little exaggerated, Doctor, but I'll gladly take at least partial credit for it. I did allow an assistant of mine to help against that monstrous traitor."

Croire beamed, "Oh, no need to be modest in my presence, Professor. In fact, I'm eager to see how some of your inventions work in-person!"

As much as Gaudile wanted to ask her his other questions, something else she had said caught his attention.

His voice was almost down to a whisper, "Uh, well... I should say since the shutdown of Gigantis and the complete halt in Force Metal production, I can't really be an expert in that field anymore. I only have some of my older, pre-Gigantis inventions back at headquarters."

Now she was curious, "Hmm? I was wondering about the reasons for the shutdown. They still haven't made that public. ...Are you allowed to tell me, Professor?"

"No, not right now. I'd have to run that by Commander Signas first. I **do** feel I can trust you, but I'm prohibited to risk it, unless you were inside our main headquarters in an official capacity and/or joined us as a fellow Hunter."

Croire maintained constant eye-contact with Gaudile, "That makes sense. So, unless I decide to join the Maverick Hunters... You don't have very many human members in your organization, do you?"

"I don't think we do at all, honestly. Generally, members of the Maverick Hunters have always been Reploids. I haven't heard of any rule that forbids humans from joining, though." Gaudile began thinking about how he could possibly convince Signas to let a human scientist join them. To be fair, Main Headquarters wasn't built to house actual flesh-and-blood humans either, as all of its [military] amenities were meant for Reploids. Really... would the **Lifesaver** units even agree to have her stay?

As Gaudile and Croire continued to converse, Axl became more curious about the "Don Blitz" character they had helped the Eurasian Division capture.

"I'll be right back, Cinny." As Axl ran over to the Eurasian Hunters, two of them were now sitting around the prisoner's cage, and one was standing right in-front of the cage's monitor with the prisoner's face glaring back. To Axl, they all looked bored.

Just as Axl came up, one of the nearest Hunters looked over in his direction, and called over to his comrades. "Hey, guys! Look sharp. One of the Hunters from HQ is headed our way." As he finished alerting them, he jumped up to meet the rather young-looking Reploid.

"Salutations, comrade. Are you here to bring our prisoner back to headquarters?"

Axl had a quick glance at the prisoner's face on the monitor before turning back to the Hunter in front of him, "Actually, no. I'm here because I wanted to ask you something about the prisoner."

The Eurasian Reploid's facial expression was as if he was raising one eyebrow, "Alright. Shoot."

 _"Huh?"_ Axl was just about to reach for his twin auto-fire pistols. Was he told to fire at the prisoner, maybe?

If this situation was different, he'd feel a bit nervous about a fellow Hunter suddenly pulling out a weapon, but the Eurasian Hunter couldn't help but laugh at Axl's confusion, "No, no, no! I didn't say _**literally**_ shoot. I meant 'ask your question'."

Axl felt really embarrassed. As he put his pistols back in their holsters, he looked back to make sure Cinnamon and the others weren't looking.

"Nope. That totally didn't just happen." Axl muttered to himself, earning another light chuckle from the Eurasian Hunter.

Once Axl was sure no-one else had heard, he asked, "So anyway, the prisoner... Is 'Don Blitz' the rumored rogue that's also been attacking places in Asia since the Gigantis mission was finished?"

The Hunter was a bit surprised about the mention of Gigantis, but chose to ignore it. He mockingly pointed back to the cage's monitor, "Oh, **this** guy? No way. He doesn't even look as intimidating as the rogue I've heard about. In all the reports we've received so far, nobody's even sure if that one is a Reploid or a Mechaniloid gone berserk. Like Donny here, though, it doesn't look like the rogue has actually killed anyone yet."

"Do you at least know what this 'rogue' looks like?" Axl inquired.

"Not personally, no. Only from vague reports that it 'looks like it jumped straight out of an old Far-Eastern folktale', and that it has multiple 'tails' which it used as weapons. No-one has heard it speak, or really do anything other than just attack people and then quickly disappear."

Axl sighed, "Really? That's it? You can't even track this 'tailed' thing?"

The Eurasian continued, "Yeah, it seems efficient at covering its trail. State-of-the-art stealth detection Radars are also useless, and we can't really predict where it'll strike next. Other than the fact it has spared every victim, there's no real pattern to its attacks that we can identify... **yet**."

"Axl!" Axl heard Cinnamon's voice call. He turned to see that Gaudile and Croire had finished their conversation. With a quick wave to the Eurasian Hunters, Axl raced back to the others.

"Signas is expecting us back within the hour, Axl. We'd better get moving, as much as I enjoyed seeing parts of Europe and this city." Gaudile's voice had a slight cadence of disappointment, wanting to spend just a little more time talking to his new human idol and fellow scientist.

"This is farewell for now, then. I also have to return to my home in France. I do hope I'll have a chance to run into you again, Professor!" With that, Croire bowed respectfully and activated the device on her left wrist. Her physical form disappeared in an ascending beam of green light.

It was finally Axl's turn to be excited about some aspect of the Doctor, " **Cool**! So that's what that wrist-device was. She can teleport!"

A mischievous idea formed in Axl's mind, and he slowly turned to Gaudile and Cinnamon.

"Hey! Race you two!"

Gaudile immediately realized what he was about to try, "Wait, NO!"

Axl had already gone in a brief flash of orange light.

"Cinnamon... what did I tell you about him?" Gaudile was fuming. Cinnamon just blinked a couple times and motioned to cover her ears, as if expecting a deafening noise.

 **"WE CAN'T TELEPORT, YOU LITTLE PUNK!"**

The irony of the Professor calling Axl "little" was not lost on Cinnamon.

In the same moment that Axl teleported, the cage containing Don Blitz's body and digitized mind started to shake for a few seconds. The Eurasian Hunter standing right in front of the monitor was wide-eyed.

"Well... that's a little worrying. Hope he doesn't escape this one too."

 _(Advance to Prologue 2)_

* * *

 **A/N: This first Prologue contains quite a few light-hearted moments on purpose, to help balance out against the inevitably more serious tone of planned future chapters. I'll _probably_ include some in the second Prologue as well.**

 **As a heads-up to all potential readers, I am by no means fluent in any language other than English. As such, I do not currently plan [nor have I yet thought of] a simple way that I can "translate" dialogue in foreign languages (to make it appear as 'English'; but with a special indication). I'm sure I can get away with making many Reploid characters multilingual, though. The possibility that most characters would speak "English" in this story is, of course, not strictly an indication of where characters are originally from.**

 **\- For those who've played Mega Man Zero 4, there is one name in this chapter that I'd expect you to immediately recognize (even if you haven't played the other three games in the Zero series).**

 **\- "Don Blitz" was the silliest OC idea I've had yet. I intended for him to be an incompetent "crime boss" in the 23rd Century, but he'd miraculously manage to escape imprisonment every single time. Until now, I guess.**

 **\- Anyone who's played _Command Mission_ all the way through will likely already know what "FMG" specifically stands for. You've also likely figured out who "the rogue" is at this point, just from that one small hint.**

 **\- It sure took me longer than expected to decide on Dr. Croire Nouveau's basic appearance. I'm not a talented artist, so I don't think I could draw a good picture of her for you readers. I'd probably have to make a commission request on Deviant-Art. :P**

 **As I should've mentioned in the Author's Note section of the Prelude chapter, it didn't really make sense to me how _Command Mission_ seemed to completely ignore the events of X8. I had only recently found out that CM was actually released _before_ X8 and, in spite of that, its events are canonically treated as happening _AFTER_ X8. The Prelude, this current chapter, and now Prologues 2  & 3, also work as an attempt to further connect the events of those two games in chronological order.**

 **Furthermore, the eventual Chapter 1 will essentially be the "Intro Stage" chapter (as would be expected for the beginning of most Mega Man X games) before we get to move on to something like the "Eight Bosses" formula.**

 **4/24/2017 Update (10:00 PM): Also, it looks like I'll have to change my self-imposed deadline, because I'll be busier than I originally thought.**

 **See all you fine readers next time (Hopefully no delays)!**


	3. Prologue 2 - Burning City

**Author's Note: First off, I deeply apologize for the LONG 9-month wait to all potential readers of this story. This story was _not_ on "hiatus"; I simply overestimated the available time I had to type up chapters for this story last year, as I'd been very busy with both college and work. I still am, but not so much as before, so I will still try to take advantage of my free time to type this story whenever possible.**

 **The long list of ideas that led to me starting to type up this story are still bouncing around in my head to this day if not already recorded in documents. As long as it could take me, I'm still willing to eventually finish this story for readers' entertainment. This is _FAR_ from over.**

 **As always, I will gladly accept constructive criticism. This is technically my first story on this site, after all.**

 ** _DISCLAIMER: I certainly can't say I own the Mega Man X series or the entire Mega Man franchise. We all owe that to CAPCOM. Any original character created for this story, however, is property of this author._**

 **Time for the chapter!**

* * *

 **PART 1: SHADOW OF CONFLICT**

 **-PROLOGUE 2-**

 _ **BURNING CITY**_

 _Ever since news of the bizarre bombings in Cain_ _égisil got out, several countries all over the world have issued high alert in highly-populated cities in preparation for continued maverick uprisings. Two months of uneasiness had gone by since the Hunters' offer to help was declined by the city's Governor, and palpable discontent continues to fester within Cain_ _égisil's population. The world now watches with silent apprehension as another city is mysteriously attacked, and one Hunter has unwittingly teleported into the unfolding chaos…_

 **West Coast Region, South Island, New Zealand: 0000 Hours**

Smoke and rising flame could be seen in the distance from the mountain range as small hovering mechaniloids were already swarming up the mountainside, their true purpose yet unknown.

Just before they could advance to a summit, a brilliant orange light led to their distraction.

"WAVELENGTH SIGNATURE IDENTIFIED: MAVERICK HUNTER TELEPORT DETECTED."

"PURSUE TARGET?"

On a nearby mountain slope, Axl's teleport finished phasing him onto his apparent destination, but his confusion at his surroundings was immediate.

"What?!", he looked around in a slight panic. He didn't see the Hunter Base anywhere. It was all outdoors.

"Oh man… How can I be way off the mark?! Where did Hunter Base go?"

Axl tried his helmet's radio-communications next.

"This is Axl to Hunter HQ. I'm reporting back from my finished duty in Europe. I just tried teleporting back to base, but I seem to have messed up. I'd like someone to get me out of here, please!"

...His audio receptors were met with naught but white noise.

"Alia? Pallette? Layer? Nana? Commander Signas? C'mon, please, is anyone there?!"

 **Still no response.**

After a few minutes of adjusting frequencies to see if he could get a clear channel, Axl gave up and wandered aimlessly around the mountain slope.

 _"Just my luck. Here I thought I was gonna have a little fun ditching those two and racing 'em back to base."_

Dismayed at his apparent misfortune, he briefly thought to hitch a ride at the nearest city until he saw the smoke in the distance.

...

...Well, he _already_ found his city... but it looked like it was under attack! He leaned forward, and now that he focused his attention on the distant structures, he could almost hear the faint discharging of weapons despite being very far away.

Or was that from nearby?

"WHOA, snap!" Axl retracted as several plasma bolts raced just past his head. He reached for his twin pistols and instinctively fired off three shots in the direction of his attacker.

He managed to shoot down three flying drones. Briefly impressed with his own aim, he stood ready for more.

"Come on out if you want a piece of me, Mavericks. I'm not letting you surprise me like that again!"

It had been quite a while since the last time Axl made an outwardly serious expression. He mentally noted to soften his expression, as his brow was bothering him.

After a few painful seconds of making a face he wasn't accustomed to making, Axl noticed an army of small hovering drones heading in his direction.

"There!", firing off a few more shots, taking a few down as before.

"CEASE YOUR ASSAULT, MAVERICK HUNTER."

Axl broke his serious face and comically frowned, "Excuse me? I was fired at first!"

Still aiming both pistols at his would-be enemies, he waited for the drones to fire back.

The drones did nothing.

Axl raised an eyebrow at their inaction, still assuming they intended to fight him. His trigger-finger, as it always had, began to 'itch' from anticipation. As close to an itch that a Reploid could feel, at any rate.

"Why **did** you fire at me?"

"IT WAS DEEMED NECESSARY TO TEST YOUR REACTION BEFORE ESTABLISHING COMMUNICATION. IT IS NOTED THAT YOUR SKILL AS A MAVERICK HUNTER IS... PASSABLE. C RANK."

Axl slouched in a mixture of relief and dejection, finally holstering his pistols.

"P-p-passable?"

The drones were about to explain their situation when Axl overreacted.

"Whaddya mean 'PASSABLE'?! You haven't seen what I've fought through, you dumb mechaniloids! I'm at least an S Rank!"

"HUNTER TARGET IS TO FOLLOW US TO THE CITY IN THE DISTANCE.", as the mechaniloids already began heading in the direction of the burning city.

Axl quietly grumbled at that.

"Hunter 'TARGET', it says. I was already planning on going to the city!"

Axl and the drones made their way down the mountainside. Axl immediately took to air-dashing. Once Axl took another closer look at the city, he could actually see plasma fire and artillery shells zoom across the cityscape, occasionally wrecking parts of tall buildings.

 _'REALLY wishing I could immediately teleport over there with the city's coordinates right about now. Too bad I'm not a literal walking GPS. I need Hunter Base's teleporter!'_

"ATTENTION, HUNTER."

Axl had quickly forgotten the drones were going to the city alongside him and, slightly startled, replied.

"What is it now?"

"THE CITY IS PARTIALLY EVACUATED AS OF NOW, AND THE FIGHTING HAD BEEN CONTAINED TO LESS-POPULATED ZONES; OTHER HUNTERS ARE ALREADY THERE TO HANDLE THE SITUATION, BUT HAVE REQUESTED BACKUP."

Axl unholstered his twin pistols once more in anticipation of a crazy firefight.

"So of-course the fun started without me. ...Wait, _**had**_ been?"

"THE ATTACK IS SLOWLY GETTING WORSE. MAVERICK MECHANILOIDS ARE NOW PUSHING BACK WITH THE HELP OF AN UNKNOWN ALLY."

Axl quickly decided that it would probably be best if he searched for the newcomer first. Whoever or whatever it was, it seemed to him that the Hunters in the city were already having trouble due to its arrival. The bulk of the invading maverick force would have to wait.

As he escaped his thoughts, he noticed that he and the drones were already close enough to the city to hear shouting as well as explosions rocking the area.

 **(Entering the city: 0040 Hours)**

Axl stopped air-dashing, and activated his hovering function. There was too much smoke rising in his vicinity to give him full visibility of the inner city, but he could tell where most of the fighting was easily enough.

After hovering the remaining distance into the city proper, he wall-jumped to the top of nearest building. He needed to find the culprit responsible for the intensified attack as quickly as possible, and this was the best vantage point he could think of for now.

 _"Stealth Mode!"_ , Axl quietly exclaimed. His body instantly camouflaged into the cityscape, and he began hover surveillance. Axl also noticed that the drones which previously found him were fanning out to participate in the city's defense, firing at anything that registered as an enemy.

Slowly descending unseen into the city below, Axl deliberately searched for the area where the most fighting took place.

Unfortunately, despite his camouflage, it wasn't too long before enemies were upon him.

As Axl faced enemy fire from nearly all directions by what appeared to be an assortment of hovertanks and dragonfly-themed mechaniloids, he was forced to rely more on the surrounding building wreckage for cover, and activated his Lock-On function. Some of his foes even had energy-barriers preventing damage from his attempts.

"Ooh, I know!", Axl exclaimed as he took cover from continued fire.

 _'I must still have a rapid-fire function. Maybe I can burn out those shields.'_

In the instant the swarm of enemy mechaniloids stopped firing, Axl rolled out of cover and fired a continuous stream of 8 shots-per-second from his pistols at two of the shielded ones. It wasn't too long before they were burning wreckage.

' _So wait... I still can't use Lock-On and Rapid Fire functions simultaneously? Oh, that's just lame!'_

Axl noted that, at the very least, his **A-Trans** abilities had improved. At certain times, and especially after failing to find anything truly conclusive during the mission to Gigantis, he wondered who his creator really was.

Axl dashed toward the next area where he heard intense fighting, deciding that Stealth Mode was pointless if every mechaniloid in the city could still detect him.

As he made his way through more ruined city streets, He found more enemies in addition to reploid figures in familiar armor fighting back. They were from the Eurasian Division, likely sent to help the evacuation effort.

Before he could decide whether to help them, he spotted two hover-gunner mechaniloids and a single heavily armored **Cannon Driver** sneaking up behind them, the latter about to drop down from a store roof. He wall-jumped off of wreckage and quickly took out the hover-gunners.

The Cannon Driver was much more difficult to deal with due to its thick armor. As Axl's bullets seemed to do nothing, it initially ignored Axl's assault and took aim at the Eurasian Hunters with its six cannons.

"Well, I've got a better idea."

He decided to switch out his pistols for a Special Arm he kept; the **Spiral Magnum**. Maybe this gun would make getting the enemy's attention easier, as Axl found that one of the many capabilities of this weapon was that it could pass right through many different surfaces; much less destroy energy shields with little effort. Without hesitation, Axl specifically targeted the cannons on his quarry, rather than the main body, and fired away. Axl reeled just a bit from the Spiral Magnum's surprising recoil.

...

A bright flash briefly blinded Axl as a loud electrical screech, sounding almost like glass shattering, went off in front of him. As his optics refocused, he noticed that the Cannon Driver had a previously-undetectable energy barrier, now being disabled due to the powerful bullet from Axl's switched weapon.

The mechaniloid, slightly knocked to its side, recovered and menacingly turned in Axl's direction; lifting its bulky legs to position itself. Oh, he got its attention alright, and its armor was still intact. At least now he didn't have to worry about wasting his effort against a shield, right? _"Right?"_ , Axl nervously thought.

And meanwhile, somehow the Eurasian Hunters below weren't distracted for a second by Axl shattering its energy barrier. One was too busy screaming orders at others, and the rest were endlessly discharging their weapons.

Axl prepared for the worst as he activated his hover function again whilst aiming at the Cannon Driver. This might take a while...

The Cannon Driver fired two shells at once, and Axl tried veering right.

To Axl's surprise, these shells had very limited homing capability. They were too slow to hit Axl in time, but he noticed them turning in his direction just before colliding with rubble ahead.

The Cannon Driver fired again, this time directly facing Axl's position in the air.

Axl got out of their way again, but with a different result. The shells detonated in mid-air, damaged Axl's right arm, and briefly knocked out his hover function. Luckily, he landed on his feet, on-level with the Cannon Driver on the store rooftop.

"Hah! 'Tis only a flesh-wound!", Axl mocked the mechaniloid and dodge-rolled toward it.

 _'If that thing manages a direct hit on me, it'd be too bad the Professor isn't here...'_

Axl was a mere 10 feet away from his enemy at this point. If the Cannon Driver fired again (while Axl was confident it would miss a direct hit), the resultant force of the explosion could still force him down and scorch his armor.

And, just as it was about to fire...

 _ **"YEEEEEEAAAAAHHH-HOOOOOOOOOOOO!"**_

Axl took the risk of looking away from his opponent. He began looking around for the source of that voice.

There it was!

... He spotted a modified Ride Chaser swooping through the air, toward him and his enemy.

"And I'm out of here!"

Axl immediately air-dashed off the rooftop and tried to activate his hover function again. It didn't respond right away, finally activating a mere second before he touched the ground.

Taking aim at Axl in that instant, the Cannon Driver fired. In that same instant, the loose Ride Chaser collided with it head-on, and the resulting explosion finally caught the attention of everyone nearby.

Shrapnel from the event flew in Axl's direction, all miraculously missing him as he looked back at the destruction with a slack-jawed expression.

 _'What a waste of a perfectly good Ride Chaser... Who is insane enough to just throw one of those away like that?!'_

Axl had to voice aloud, " _ **I**_ could've used one of those to get here faster!"

In response, Axl was greeted by the source of the same overexcited voice, and heavy footsteps approaching his current position.

"Whoo! I never thought these Ride Chasers could be so much fun!"

Another more familar voice spoke up, "I'd say today has made a Ride Chaser-enthusiast out of you, big guy. Never had you pegged for one.", Axl could hear the owner of that voice jump down from another rooftop.

Nervous laughter erupted from the former as they both walked toward Axl; now able to make out their silhouettes. He tried placing where he heard these voices from before, as it had been a little while since his last adventure with the rest of the Hunters.

"Where'd you even get that Ride Chaser? We didn't come here with any.", Axl heard the latter voice inquire.

The former voice; the one the other called 'big guy', sheepishly replied "Oh, I stole it from one of the invading Mavericks."

"You surprise me once again. I didn't know you were a thief too."

"It... It was **necessary** to get to where the greatest fighting occurred! You see how effective it ultimately was!?"

"Relax, my fellow apprehender of goods. Just pulling your leg."

And out of the dust and shadows; the silhouettes gave way to a magenta-clad female Reploid with oddly humanesque form-fitting armor and long green hair, and an imposingly tall dark green-clad male Reploid with bulky limbs and red 'wings' on his back. The former carried what looked like a ninja's dagger, and the latter carried a huge beam-lance partly propped on his left shoulder.

"Marino? Steel Massimo?!"

Marino sheathed her dagger and gave a wry grin, waving as they walked up to Axl, "Hey, he remembered us!"

Most of Steel Massimo's face was still hidden behind the half-mask of his helmet, but Axl could see a silly expression in his eyes.

"Hey kid. S'only been two months, and we were already missing you! Did you have fun slacking off?"

Steel Massimo's greeting was a comically sincere salute with the words "Axl! You have returned! Come to help us fend off these unwelcome guests, friend?"

One would probably see a figurative vein popping on Axl's forehead if he wasn't still wearing his helmet. Briefly ignoring Massimo's greeting, he didn't know if he should be bothered more by being called 'kid' or 'slacker'.

"Funny...", he conceded as his arms drooped, about to holster his pistols again out of habit.

He saw Marino reach for her sheath as her face fell into a neutral expression, but couldn't see what she took. Whatever she reached for, the dagger was still stored. He ultimately paid it no mind as he let his pistols slip into their familiar pouches. In the instant they were resting in holsters, Axl decided to ask Marino and Massimo about the Hunter Base.

"There's something I need to ask you guys, regarding my-"

 _Whoosh!_ Right past his left cheek flew three small laser darts, coming from Marino's direction. Axl couldn't help being stunned until he heard buzzing right behind him.

"Yes! Sweet revenge! That'll teach 'em to target me!", Marino shouted with glee.

When he turned around, he noticed the laser darts embedded in a small firefly-like mechaniloid; a mass-produced "Hotarion" model. As he watched it lay severely-damaged on the ground, Marino spoke up.

"It was a nice chat, but don't drop your guard down for even a second. I've been finding **those** all over the city.", pointing to the downed Hotarion.

"We're not done here either, Axl.", Massimo was the first to turn to a low metallic groaning from where the Ride Chaser had crashed.

Marino and Axl followed Massimo's cue to the noise. It didn't take long for any of them to figure out that the Cannon Driver wasn't quite finished, and they all rushed to three separate positions surrounding it.

The mechaniloid shakily stood up and walked out of the smoke that still rose from its spot, showing busted armor-plating in several places and having lost all but two of its cannons. It prepared to fire one last time; this time targeting Marino.

Finally drawing her beam dagger, and prepared for a shockwave from incoming shells, Marino yelled "Party's over, trashheap!"

...With unexpected speed, the Cannon Driver began a mad charge like a bull toward Marino, ready to fire at close-range!

*Gulp* Despite a feeling of dread from watching this monstrous machine get closer, Marino was biding her time, and bravely stood her ground.

"What are you doing, Marino?! Move out of the way!" Axl screamed, switching to his Spiral Magnum again.

Had Axl taken his eyes off the mechaniloid for even a second, he might've noticed Steel Massimo had switched his lance for another weapon.

He fired another round at an exposed part where one of its cannons used to be.

To his disbelief, the bullet had little effect, only slightly pushing the Cannon Driver back. It ignored Axl and continued its mad charge.

...

 **"SUIRETSUSEN!"**

A long polearm pierced through the totaled armor on the mechaniloid's right blindside, saturating its circuitry with a rush of clear-blue liquid.

In its last moments, the fearsome mechaniloid stubbornly tried to fire its remaining cannons.

After an unsettling three seconds of silence, the Cannon Driver finally collapsed, damaged beyond repair. Axl could see Steel Massimo still in a position like he'd thrown a javelin.

"You know, Massimo, I didn't actually expect _water_ to work this time. Not after the scuffle we had with one of these back in Gigantis. Guess I owe you, big guy!", Marino wasn't totally confident her coordinated effort with Massimo would've worked, but they had to take the risk all the same.

Massimo calmly walked over to the defunct mechaniloid and yanked the massive beam-naginata weapon out. His face wore a prideful expression at having ended the threat, now examining the weapon he had tested; the _**"Durga's Glaive"**_ , as the Commander of the Special 0-Unit called it. Axl probably would've thought watching him in this moment was really cool...

...If not for the silliest thing to happen to Massimo yet.

A mere second after Massimo stopped admiring his work and turned around, what remained of the Cannon Driver exploded in his face.

"GAHHH!"; And with that, the sheer force of the explosion sent Massimo flying into an abandoned convenience store right behind him. One could hear shattered glass, crashing stalls, and vending machines busting open with snacks and drinks spilling everywhere.

Marino was amused, "I'm sure he's completely fine. His armor's more than a match for a building!"

As soon as she said that, the store's foundations collapsed in a small cloud of dust. Axl might as well have sweatdropped.

Was he in a real firefight or a superhero movie?

And to Axl's annoyance, the drones from earlier returned.

"ATTENTION, HUNTERS."

"Yeah?", Marino was anticipating more chaos to come.

"THE EVACUATION IS COMPLETE. ALL HUMAN AND REPLOID RESIDENTS OF THE CITY HAVE BEEN SAFELY REMOVED."

"I don't suppose that means I can loot whatever I please now? I'm sure people living here won't be missing a few things I'd take.", Marino sweetly inquired.

Ignoring her words entirely, "THE TARGET HAS ANNOUNCED HIMSELF TO US. HE IS HEADING DIRECTLY THIS WAY."

"So our top troublemaker of the day isn't a coward after all."

"What is our plan now, Axl?"

That question caught him by surprise. Massimo was asking him; It appears he had already made it out of his embarrassing situation and right behind Axl.

 _"I didn't even hear him!"_ "W..Why are you asking me?!"

"Technically, you outrank us."

"And none of us have established a good connection to the Navigators back at HQ.", Marino added.

Axl remembered.

"Hey! That's what I was going to ask you two about! So you're both definitely experiencing the same communication issue?"

"Ah. Afraid so, kid. We're on our own.", Marino shrugged.

 _(Advance to Prologue 3)_

* * *

 **A/N: I'd also like to inform you all once again that I personally feel the story material I'd typed up is too long for just one more Prologue chapter; so you're going to be seeing four Prologue chapters in total before the real story begins. (I have nearly finished typing up several future chapters already, so you'll likely be seeing the next two chapters to finish up this "Prologue' section before the end of February)**

\- **I've taken a _small_ liberty with "wavelength signatures", specifically for when characters _teleport_. While the term "wavelength" was originally used for visible light only, it is now used to refer to the entire electromagnetic spectrum, and includes sound  & molecular vibration spectrums. In this story, the Maverick Hunters have a unique "signature" that can be partially-disguised by the beam of visible-light they become when they teleport. The mechaniloids (Mega Man X-series term for _robots that follow simple programming_ ; for those that don't already know) in this chapter were already equipped with instruments to detect their distinct ultrasonic frequency as they teleport in.**

 **\- A "Cannon Driver" is the very first enemy encountered in Megaman X2's Intro Stage (it's partially destroyed when X jumps off his Ride Chaser). They are also encountered in the Gameboy _Xtreme_ titles usually before Boss rooms, and a special shielded variant is encountered in _Command Mission_ near the Far East HQ.**

 **\- Anyone who's played X7 & X8 would likely recognize the new weapon Massimo has.**

 **\- The high-speed "Hotarion" enemy is found in Spark Mandrill's stage in X1, and returns in X5 as an enemy in Izzy Glow's stage. In X5, they can create walls of lasers to either block your path or damage you directly.**

 **\- One of Marino's lines in this chapter is a direct reference to one of her weapon-specific attacks in _Command Mission_. I hopefully didn't make it _too_ obvious, so kudos to whoever recognizes it!**

 **On a much happier note, I'm really excited for _Megaman 11_ and the X-series games coming to PS4's PSN later this year!**

 **See you in the next chapter, prospective readers! As I've said, there should be more coming within _this_ month.**


	4. Prologue 3 - The Sun Descends

**Author's Note:** **At the very least, I'm glad to inform you all that I actually took the time to type up more planned chapters than just this one.**

 **Has anyone else been experiencing errors accessing pages on this site lately? I've been having trouble updating my documents here, which is only partly why it's taken me another month to update this story.**

 ** _DISCLAIMER: I am obligated to say I do_** **NOT** ** _own the Mega Man X series, or the Mega Man franchise in general. Pretty sure it's still property of_** **CAPCOM** ** _, or they likely wouldn't have included X, Zero, or Sigma in_** **Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite _OR announced the_ re-release _of the X series for PS4 PSN_** ** _._**

 **Enjoy the next Prologue!** _(while I'm still working on later chapters)_

* * *

 **PART 1: SHADOW OF CONFLICT**

 **-PROLOGUE 3-**

 ** _THE SUN DESCENDS_**

 **Ruined New Zealand City, after successful evacuation: 0200 Hours**

Axl felt slightly relieved that he wasn't the only one with issues trying to contact Hunter Base, but he still couldn't fathom why this happened. It didn't make sense... When he was still back in Dynamikos with Cinnamon and the Professor, he knew the Professor was contacted directly by Signas.

Did Marino and Massimo get here by mistake too? Did they try going back to base after some mission and wound up here instead? Axl now wondered; almost _hoped_ that he might find other familiar faces besides them here.

To make this matter even worse, he had to consider that he was fool enough to never wonder where in the world Hunter Base was actually located. Despite occasional escapades outside of missions, and his 2-month trip to Dynamikos, he never ventured outside of Hunter Base to its immediate surroundings. He began to wonder just which country Hunter Base could be located in.

Then he finally caught notice of a hand that had been waving in his face.

"Earth to Axl! **Kid** , are you still in there?!", Marino mocked.

He'd feel _real_ embarrassed if he asked her right in that moment where Hunter Base was, so he tried to act the part of commander, outwardly steeling himself for this rare attempt.

"Uh... heh, sorry. I was just getting ready to give you orders!"

Marino raised an eyebrow, "Remember what I told you about never dropping your guard, kid?"

Okay, he had to give that point to Marino. He was just so distracted lately; and not just about his failure to get back to Hunter Base. He drew his pistols again in anticipation of the new threat the drones warned him about.

Massimo spoke up, "Counting the few Eurasian Hunters we found here with us, we are still vastly outnumbered by our enemy, Axl. It looks like our comrades are moving to another section of the city.", Massimo then pointed to Axl's left.

In the distance, the Eurasian Hunters' movements were indeed urgent. Axl could still hear one of them barking orders.

"Should we go assist them, Axl?", Massimo dutifully inquired.

Before Axl made his final decision, he turned over to the mechaniloid drones that were still floating in place above them. They spoke in response.

"WE SHALL INTERCEPT THE TARGET IN THE DIRECTION WE HAVE SPOTTED HIS MESSAGE. DO **NOT** FOLLOW."

When most of the drones already began speeding away, "You're not going to wait for us?! What if this one's too much for you?"

"THAT DOES NOT MATTER. ALL CITIZENS HAVE BEEN EVACUATED, AND THE THREAT MUST BE ELIMINATED AT ALL COSTS."

"YOU MUST STAY HERE TO DEFEND THIS SECTOR. MORE HOSTILE SIGNATURES HAVE BEEN DETECTED COMING THIS WAY. ALL HUNTERS MUST ALSO DESTROY THE MAIN THREAT SHOULD WE FAIL."

As the remainder of the drones flew off into the smoke-filled horizon beyond tall skyscrapers, Axl then gave his command.

"Alright then. The Eurasian Hunters looked like they can handle themselves just fine, so let's not worry about them. Let's all spread out and keep an eye on separate streets for now."

"...And make sure whoever this is doesn't catch us **all** off-guard, right?"

"Hey, sounds good to me, kid!", Marino picked a spot about fifty meters away and readied several beam-darts in her hands.

Massimo took the initiative to climb to higher elevation on a nearby abandoned apartment building, and alternated between watching both their backs and a separate street.

As they continued waiting for more enemies to show up, it had gone quiet all too quickly. All the dust from their skirmish moments ago had already settled, and vision was clear for miles down several city streets.

Axl ultimately chose to remain right where he was, as he was still unsure about his hover function. Two streets ahead of him looked particularly devastated, like an old wheeled car couldn't be driven on one of them without eventually being flung to the side, right into one of the former residences or onto the dirt below. For the moment, these streets were where his attention would be placed.

Several minutes of tension passed, practically feeling like hours in themselves.

Axl was already growing impatient. Maybe they judged this new threat greater than it really was. Nobody was showing up.

"OVER HERE!", Marino cried.

Hearing a yell from Marino's direction shocked Axl out of impatience. This _had_ to be it.

Marino was facing down a fast-approaching army of mechaniloids, throwing her chosen weapons at random targets.

Axl wasn't sure he'd actually seen some of those mechaniloid models before. There were some in the form of wolves dashing toward Marino, and others looked similar to hover-gunners but with a single large crystal lens on the front. Of course, there were several Hotarions following close-by, true to Marino's earlier warning.

He was getting ready to air-dash over to Marino's location to assist, when Massimo yelled.

"Behind you, Axl! Another force is coming!"

Before Axl could react, a stream of energy shots had already smouldered the ground around him.

He moved to find more cover. When he finally got up to fire back, he noticed Massimo already coming to his aid, drawing some of the enemy fire and readying his beam-lance.

 _'Now would be a good time for my hover function to cooperate. Screw the risk!'_

Axl had to gain altitude by wall-jumping onto the same building where he previously fought the Cannon Driver. Once he reached the rooftop, he looked above Massimo's position.

 _'Oh joy, **more** of those fireflies. How many of these things do they think they need!?'_

A group of Hotarions, fifteen in total, were already looking to swarm Steel Massimo and trap him in a cage of lasers. They began flying in a circular pattern with pods on their "abdomens" lighting up. Massimo was aware they were up to something, but was preoccupied with ground forces.

Down went a Death Press and three Dejiras, brutalized by the M-Lance.

"Time for a taste of your own medicine!", Axl enthused.

 _'That sounded a lot less cliche before it came out my mouth, but I'm rolling with it.'_

Axl began hovering, and whatever the destructive designs the Hotarions had in store for the tall Hunter would be, they were soon interrupted by pistol-fire. Axl had begun Rapid Fire once more with both his trusty pistols. He shot down five of them in under two seconds, and aimed at more. The rest frantically closed in on Massimo before Axl could let off another shot.

They were going to divebomb him, charged laser and all.

Axl screamed as he missed one of them, "Watch out!"

Massimo pivoted in response and, with quick thinking and sharpened skill, swung the M-Lance in a wide arc behind him.

All ten remaining Hotarions in the group were bisected.

 _'Phew.'_

As Massimo continued fighting off more Mechaniloids, he shouted, "Much appreciated, Axl!"

Axl muttered to himself, "Okay. I think that makes up for his earlier mishap. That was so cool!"

"What was that? Did you have more orders for me?!", Massimo screamed over the noise of fighting.

"Oh, _nothing_!", Axl exclaimed in a nervous sing-song voice, "Just keep up the defense!"

Cool as that display was, he couldn't forget about Marino. Hopefully, she was holding out on her own, and he hovered away from the battle scene. Surely Massimo didn't need his help now.

As soon as he looked back over in Marino's direction, he noticed mechaniloids were all over her area, searching for her. He couldn't see Marino anywhere out there.

Was she _hiding?_ At a time like this?

Hiding or not, he had to hurry and cover a large distance to help her. Axl considered that shooting at the mechaniloids from his current spot might unnecessarily draw them to Massimo, should he miss any. It took Axl a little while to notice Marino slipping out of a window. She jumped onto a tall streetlight and drew a new weapon. It wasn't her usual daggers or darts, and he could have sworn he'd seen the purple of those blades before.

Marino was quietly staying in that position while her enemy still searched below. Axl decided to slowly advance and, as he got closer, he sidled behind the walls of wrecked homes. He chose not to fire yet, as he was curious to see whatever Marino was planning for them.

"That's ENOUGH! I hope all of you expendables had your little fun!", a new voice boomed through the air.

In no more than a second, a ray of light pierced through the smoke covering the tops of skyscrapers.

As all confused spectators looked upward, a lone white silhouette descended from the piercing light. Even Massimo's attention was taken completely from his opponents.

The figure obscured in white raised both arms toward the sky, and a halo-shaped construct appeared just above.

 _'Ugh... how pretentious. Who does this guy think he is?!'_ , Marino thought. She consciously readied a new weapon she hadn't tested in actual battle yet, and braced for impact.

The Hunters then caught sight of the drones from before. This new enemy had apparently dispatched all of them with relative ease, as he brought their ruined forms here just to drop them uselessly to the streets below. Once they had all crashed, he uttered, "You fools may all call me ' **Sol** '."

Axl froze, as if recognizing a familiar voice.

Indeed, after hearing the voice a second time, Axl could not deny familiarity to it. _'I don't understand!'_

As Axl's mind raced to figure out who exactly "Sol" was... No, the _name_ didn't ring any bells, but...

 _'That voice! Why can't I remember!?'_

"Now then... Let's see how you all handle **THIS**!", and with a mere palm gesture from their enemy, the halo above him sent several luminous beams screaming toward the surface. They targeted friend and foe alike, and began devastating the already-ruined cityscape.

Axl had too many lucky close-calls already today, and from the look of things, he might not make it out of this one. He had wasted too much time thinking.

They were coming in _too_ fast...

 _(Advance to Prologue 4)_

* * *

 **A/N: Seems like the Hunters' new foes already have a growing advantage on the playing field. How are they going to escape this city?**

 **Today is a _LOT_ later than I expected to upload this specific chapter. I meant to post this on Valentine's Day last time (along with Prologue 4), but I've been frustrated with trying to type up material for much later chapters for a few weeks. I really hope this isn't the onset of "writer's block"...**

 **That aside, this is a relatively short Prologue chapter. Prologue 4 is appropriately going to be the lengthiest one.**

 **Due to the setbacks I've experienced, I'm not going to promise a specific date for the uploading of Prologue 4. Instead, I'll just give a time-frame of between now in March to the end of April for when you can expect it (and Chapter 1 as well).**

 **\- I also want to say that I noticed a couple small goofs in the Prelude. I have since corrected that, for those among you readers that may also have noticed! ^_^;**

 **\- Just after I submitted this Chapter, I already noticed that I left a couple [very Spoiler-y] notes for later ones here. I hope no-one noticed them! XD**

 **\- So, from what you read so far, who do you think "Sol" might be?**

 **\- I've hinted at a "new" weapon for Marino, just as I've shown for Massimo in the previous Prologue chapter. It shouldn't be hard to figure out!**

 **See you all in _Prologue 4_ , the final chapter before "Chapter 1", and the REAL beginning of this story!**


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